Chef vs. Public BBQ: Clare Falzon

1. Chef vs Public BBQ

We meet chef Clare Falzon at a public BBQ inside Kadlitpina/Rundle Park. The morning sun beams strongly on the BBQ plate while a large oak tree shades the public picnic table, set up with a 70s orange and yellow floral tablecloth.

As Clare organises, unboxing cleaned prawns, cut Lebanese cucumbers and coconut flakes all prepared the night before, they advise us this isn’t the first time they’ve cooked on a public BBQ but it is the first time they’ve cooked something this elegant on one.

Clare is cooking up prawns with Szechuan butter, cucumber salad with coriander and fried shallots, and BBQ lemon and coconut rice.

This is what represents Clare’s style of cooking.

“I guess [it’s] pretty fresh,” they elaborate on their culinary flair.

“I like to let the produce not be overcomplicated or drowned – just shine for how it is and complement each other.”

It was a love of quality produce that drew Clare to Adelaide in the first place.

Clare’s cooking has taken them around the world but working for the Gordon Ramsay group in London was a standout. CityMag asks if it’s anything like what we see on TV.

Keeping their cards close to their chest, Clare reveals “some of it”, then moves the conversation forward.

“They take it like very, very, very seriously. It showed me there’s more than just cooking schnitzels in a pub, and you can do all these other wonderful things as well,” Clare says as they explain one of their first introductions to the fine dining tropes.

Clare clocked two years in London, then another six months in Amsterdam until they finally decided it was time call Australia home again.

When holidaying in SA, they came across Hentley Farm and Clare jumped at the chance to work in the produce-driven kitchen.

“A lot of produce, a lot of seafood too, because South Australia has some great seafood,” Clare says as they begin to sear prawns on the cooktop.

“Then we had about 14, 15 items on the menu, and most of them were quite small which was nice because then you could do more things — kind of little bites or spoonfuls to try all the different stuff that’s available,” they remember.

Clare says Hentley’s signature dish was nicknamed ‘dippies’ which was “local cream seasoned with either local vegetables or vegetables from the garden and you dip into the creams”.

They say this “shows what [Hentley’s] trying to do”: fresh produce in a simple dish.

After nearly six years, Clare left the Hentley team and found themselves cooking at CityMag’s favourite bottle bar LOC. Though it’s not much of a kitchen, they appreciate the simplicity saying “it’s very cool, it’s very different”.

“I’ve done a lot of fine dining, but it’s not necessarily how I cook for myself at home or for my friends,” Clare elaborates.

“It’s nice to be in LOC that is a bit more of a relaxed environment and I can just approach it… a bit more scaled back.”

The menu is ever-changing and diners are never too sure what they’re going to get when walking through the doors.

But what Clare appreciates most about their temporary abode at LOC is its simplicity.

“It’s just me, so there’s no one to manage. Pretty much all of my focus is just on the food,” Clare says.

In Clare Falzon fashion, they plan to hit the road again, and says they are finishing up residency at LOC in a few weeks at the time of interviewing. But before leaving SA, they plan to make two Tasting Australia appearances: cooking and hosting at the Fire, Flames and Fine Dining event and then heading to the Limestone Coast to cook at Ottelia restaurant as part of the Tasting Australia airlines package.

Clare finishes cooking in under 30 minutes and moves effortlessly around the cooktop to prepare the finishing touches to dishes, sprinkling lines of salt meticulously onto each prawn, adding peppercorns and red chilli flakes. They drop fried shallots, coriander and mint onto the cut cucumbers positioned on a blue flower-shaped plate.

When discussing why simplicity is key to Clare’s cooking, they quote a friend’s advice: “If you have every ingredient available, you can cook anything, but when you have limited ingredients, that’s when you can see how good of a cook you are.

“I’m trying to embrace that.” 

Prawns with Szechuan butter

Ingredients

–7 medium prawns, peeled and cleaned
–1 tablespoon Szechuan pepper
–1 teaspoon black peppercorns
–½ teaspoon red chilli flakes
–150gm unsalted butter, diced
–Salt
–Vegetable oil

Method

1. Either with a mortar and pestle or in a food processor, crush the Szechuan and black peppercorns until broken and coarsely ground. Add the chilli flakes and continue to break up slightly.

2. Lightly toast the spices in a small pan or pot over the BBQ until they become aromatic.

3. Add the diced butter to the pot and allow to gently melt and infuse with the spices.

4. While infusing, season the prawns with salt and add oil to the BBQ. Once the oil is hot, add prawns and sear for 30 seconds to a minute, depending on their size.

5. Once cooked, lay the prawns on a serving platter and spoon Szechuan butter over generously.

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

–3 Lebanese cucumbers
–½ bunch mint
–½ bunch coriander
–¼ cup fried shallots
–Salt

Dressing

–150ml rice wine vinegar
–100ml light soy sauce
–75ml vegetable oil
–50ml mirin
–1 teaspoon caster sugar

Method

1. Half the cucumbers longways, and slice ½ centimetre thick. Season generously with salt.

2. Pick the washed mint and coriander and add to the bowl of sliced cucumber.

3. In a separate bowl, combine all dressing ingredients and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

4. Add the dressing to the bowl of cucumber and herbs and mix thoroughly.

5. Transfer salad to a shallow bowl and finish by adding fried shallots.

BBQ Lemon and Coconut Rice

Ingredients

–1 cup jasmine rice, washed
–½ cup coconut milk
–1 cup water
–1 teaspoon turmeric
–Zest of 1 lemon
–Juice of 1 lemon
–2 teaspoons salt
–1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
–½ cup coconut flakes
–Vegetable oil

Method

1. At home, place the washed rice, coconut milk, water, turmeric and lemon juice in a rice cooker or pot and cook until light and fluffy. If cooking in a pot, bring to the boil and then cover and turn off the heat. Allow to sit and steam until cooked.

2. While cooking, lightly toast the coconut flakes in the oven on 160 degrees Celsius.

3. At the BBQ, make sure the hot plate is on high heat and add enough vegetable oil to coat the hot plate. Allow to heat up.

4. Once the oil is hot, add the rice to the BBQ and quickly and frequently move around and turning over. The aim is to heat up the rice, while also allowing it to become crispy.

5. Once heated, add salt and pepper, the zest of a lemon and the coconut flakes, and quickly mix briefly before removing.

6. Serve in a bowl or platter.

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